WHY I THINK ARLIE LATHAM SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK ARLIE LATHAM SHOULD

BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Arlie Latham was a very classic baseball player of his time. He would try to force his way

on base in any way possible, steal a base or two, and score the run. Latham was a huge run producer,

a great defensive third baseman for his time, an expert sign stealer (legal type), and one of the best base

thieves of all time. He was also no slouch at the plate, as he batted .269 for his career and banged out

85 triples. Arlie Latham started his career with the Buffalo Bisons in 1880, but wasn’t a regular until

1883, when he played for the St. Louis Browns of the American Association. He batted only .236 that

year but hit .274 in 1884 and was soon enormously popular with the fans, as much for his hitting and

baserunning as for his heckling of the opponent. Latham batted .301 in 1886, led the league in scoring

with 152, and had his finest season in 1887. That year he hit .316 with 129 stolen bases and scored

163 runs. He fell to .265 in 1888 but stole 109 bases, which marked the first time in MLB history that a

player stole 100 or more bases in consecutive seasons. Latham batted only .246 in 1889 and split his

1890 season but was back on track in 1891 with the Reds, when he batted .272. Latham slipped to

.238 in 1892 but batted .282, .313, and .311 for the Reds before becoming a part time player  for the

NL Browns in 1896. Latham was released after the season but came back in 1899 for six games and

played four more games in 1909 at the age of 49 before retiring for good. Arlie Latham was a great

baserunner and a big draw at the ballpark for his aggressive play. Without question, Latham belongs

in Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,629 season high: 152 in 1892 led AA: 98 in 1883 

At Bats career: 6,832 season high: 627 in 1887 led AA: 627 in 1887 

Hits career: 1,836 season high: 198 in 1887 

Doubles career: 245 season high: 35 in 1887 

Triples career: 85 season high: 12 in 1884 

Home Runs career: 27 season high: 7 in 1891 

Runs career: 1,481 season high: 163 in 1887 led AA: 152 in 1886 

Runs Batted In career: 563 season high: 83 in 1887 

Stolen Bases career: 742 season high: 129 in 1887 led AA: 109 in 1888 (stolen bases weren’t counted in

1880, 1883, 1884 or 1885) 

Walks career: 589 season high: 74 in 1891 

Strikeouts career: 305 season high: 55 in 1892 (strikeouts weren’t counted from 1883 through 1886) 

Batting Average career: .269 season high: .316 in 1887 

On Base Percentage career: .334 season high: .392 in 1894 

Slugging Percentage career: .341 season high: .413 in 1887 

Total Bases career: 2,332 season high: 259 in 1887 

Sacrifice Hits career: 18 season high: 11 in 1894 (sacrifice hits weren’t counted until 1894) 

Fielding Percentage career: .872 season high: .892 in 1893 (the league fielding percentage was .867) 

Double Plays career: 267 season high: 29 in 1892 led AA 3B: 14 in 1883, 16 in 1884 led NL 3B: 24 in 1891 

Putouts career: 2,080 season high: 204 in 1889 

Assists career: 3,656 season high: 370 in 1891 led AA 3B: 302 in 1884, 217 in 1885 led NL 3B:

370 in 1891 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “The Freshest Man On Earth”, "The Dude", and "The Hustler from Hustletown"

-played in four “World Series” in the 1880’s and stole 28 career bases and scored 31 runs

in those Series 

-won a World Series ring with the St. Louis Browns in 1886 

-would do somersaults to avoid being tagged on the basepaths

-was the oldest player ever to steal a base at 49

-his 129 stolen bases in 1887 are still the third highest total of all time 

-led the AA with 677 plate appearances in 1887 

-led AA third basemen in games in 1883 (98) and led NL third basemen in 1892 (142) 

-needless to say, he was the oldest player to appear in an MLB game in 1909 

-was the first contracted base coach in MLB history, and was also the first man from New

Hampshire to play in the MLB 

-As a base coach, he would scream at and insult opposing pitchers to distract him; when

he ran up and down the first and third base lines and even sometimes lit firecrackers under

third base; coaching boxes were invented to prevent him from doing this.